The Call
by Taura Callisto
Summary: Don gets a disturbing call from Charlie, will he be able to help his brother in time? Charlie and Don angst
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Numb3rs, but man I wish I did, being a poor college student sucks. ;)

The Call

Don Eppes had just been getting ready to go home for the evening when he heard the familiar sound of his cell phone ringing.

A quick glance at the caller ID told him it was his younger brother Charlie; he quickly flipped open the phone to answer.

"Hey Chuck" he grinned to himself knowing how the nickname irritated his little brother.

The grin abruptly faded however when Charlie replied.

"Don…" It was all Charlie said at first, but it was enough to set the tone of the conversation. After thirty years Don had learned that his name could have many different meanings when coming from his brother's mouth. This time was no different; it conveyed to him pain, fear, and a certain amount of weakness, all things that he never liked to associate with Charlie.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" he asked though fearing the answer.

There was some hesitation on Charlie's part before a soft reply came.

"I wasn't sure what to do… I'm sorry if I'm bothering you… I'm kind of in a... a tight... situation and…" he paused and Don could hear his ragged breathing over the line.

"I guess I just wanted to hear your voice" came the rest of his sentence.

"Charlie what's going on? You're kind of freaking me out here, and no, of course you're not bothering me, I told you to call if you ever needed anything."

Instead of answering his question Charlie sighed and asked a question of his own.

"Don, do you remember when we were kids and we would play hide and seek in the woods near the playground?"

The random question completely threw Don off base and he had to stop and think for a moment.

"Sure I do, you always lost because you got tired of hiding in one spot for so long. You always tried to make it to the safe zone, although that rarely happened." He smiled at the memory but was brought back to the present by a sharp cough over the phone.

"Are you ok?"

"Sorry, something keeps getting caught in my throat" He coughed again and Don thought he heard Charlie hiss in pain.

"Where are you, do you need me to come get you?"

"I don't know, maybe... I'd say yes but I'm not entirely sure where I'm at."

"What do you mean you don't know where you're at, are you lost?" Don was getting more confused and worried by the minute.

"I don't feel lost... I mean, I don't feel that panicky feeling you get when you're lost, so no I guess not."

"Charlie that doesn't make any sense, are you lost or not?"

Once again Charlie paused and Don thought he could hear some rattling in the background.

"Don, I think there's something wrong with my car."

"Why do you say that, is that where you are right now Charlie, in your car?" Don asked hoping to get a few more facts. By now he had gotten his things together and was on his way to the parking lot, he would wait in his car while he talked to Charlie, that way as soon as he figured out where his brother was he could go get him.

"Yeah I'm in my car, but it's not going anywhere, but I'm pretty sure that it started earlier… and I can't get my radio to turn off..."

"Ok, Charlie I want you to do something for me, I want you to look out your windows and tell me what you see, are there any road signs or landmarks, anything at all, can you do that for me buddy?" Don patiently waited while his brother looked.

"Um… trees... I see a lot of trees... there's one in front of my car, hmm, maybe that's why it's not going anywhere when I push on the gas."

Now Don could feel himself panicking as he realized what was going on, Charlie must have had a car accident, which would help explain his odd behavior. He quickly pushed the fear to the back of his mind and tried to focus on the situation at hand.

Before he could say anything Charlie continued speaking.

"Don, I think my air conditioner is broke too, I'm really cold… and I can't find the knob to turn it off…" Charlie coughed again only this time it sounded wet. Once his throat was relatively clear Charlie continued, but his sentences were more erratic with short ragged breaths interrupting every few words or so.

"Do you... remember that time... when mom and... dad took us… skiing? It was… cold then too… Remember how... we built a... fort and had a… snow ball fight?" He would have continued if Don hadn't interrupted.

"Charlie! I need you to focus for a bit, can you do that?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I need to know if you were in an accident and if you're hurt?"

Charlie was quiet for a minute and when he spoke again it was so soft that Don had to strain to hear what he said.

"I hate abandoned buildings Don; they make me sad, especially that old elementary school. A building where people learn should never be empty."

Don sighed, obviously his brother had a head injury because his thoughts were really scattered. He leaned his head up against the steering wheel and tried to think what to do. _My brother needs help and I have no idea where to find him. _Just as soon as the thought entered his mind he realized something and began to put the pieces together.

Charlie was in a wooded area or at least somewhere where trees were clumped together and there was probably a playground nearby, of course, he was just hoping that his brother's thoughts weren't completely scattered and a nearby playground had been the cause for the short trip down memory lane. He knew of three abandoned elementary schools in and around the area that Charlie frequented. If he recalled correctly, one was partially burned down, and one of them didn't really have anything close by that would cause Charlie to drive out that way but it did have an old playground near the woods. The last one met all the criteria as well but was closer to a small park. He quickly cranked up his SUV, and on a hunch started towards the last of the three choices, it would take him twenty to get there, fifteen if he turned on his lights. He could only hope he had picked the right one.

While he had been figuring out what to do, Charlie had grown silent and for a moment he was afraid that the line had gone dead. A quick glance at his phone told him otherwise.

"Charlie! You still with me?"

"Don… I'm here… what were you saying, I can't remember what we were talking about… why did you call me, I forget?"

"Charlie, you called me."

"Oh, I did?.. hmm… I'm tired Don, I think I might take a quick power nap, can I call you back later?"

"NO… No Charlie, I need you to stay awake for me, keep talking ok, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"I'll try, but talking hurts my head…" Charlie suddenly stopped talking, and Don could hear him draw in deep breath and when he spoke again Don could hear a bit more clarity in his voice than he had heard the entire conversation.

"Don, I…I think I might have wrecked my car... Oh my... DON... I had a car accident!" Don winced as Charlie's voice grew louder and the panic in his tone was unmistakable.

"Charlie calm down, I need to know what happened and where you're at exactly, I need you to try and remember."

"I met Larry at that old park… the one in the older part of town… we were going to try out the model rocket he built and not many people go there anymore… since they built that new one across town… I was on my way home and I decided to take the back road since it was such a nice evening… I think my tire blew out... I can't remember much past that…"

Don listened as his brother spoke; the strong voice he'd started out with gradually weakened and by the end of his explanation it was a soft whisper. Don changed directions and headed for the back road that Charlie had mentioned.

"Charlie I'm almost there ok, just hang on for a little while longer. How badly are you hurt?"

He feared that his brother was slipping away from him and he was fairly certain he wouldn't last much longer. He wanted to call for an ambulance but he couldn't hang up with his brother. From Charlie's reactions on the phone, he had made a catalog of the injuries he was sure Charlie would have, he was positive Charlie had a head injury and he thought there might also be some internal bleeding, possibly a punctured lung, because he could tell Charlie was having trouble breathing and thought that his brother might be choking on his own blood if his wet coughs were anything to go by.

"Don... I don't feel so good" Charlie said as if to confirm Don's thoughts.

"I know Charlie, I know. Don't think about it ok? Tell me about that rocket that you and Larry were testing."

There was a long pause and when Charlie spoke again his voice was resolute, there were things he wanted to say and he had come to the realization that he probably had little time left to say them.

"Don, do you know what my greatest regret in life is?" Don wasn't sure he wanted to know and he had a fear that he knew where this conversation was leading.

"No Charlie, I don't"

"My greatest regret… is all the time I missed spending with you… and mom and dad because… I was always so wrapped up… in my numbers. Sometimes I wonder… what I would have seen... or learned if I had just stepped... out of my own little world... and into reality. Now I may never know."

"Charlie, don't talk like that, I'm almost there. Just hang on, promise me that you'll hang on."

Another long pause; Don was frantically searching the road for any indication that a car may have swerved off it. Up ahead, not twenty yards away, were the tale-tell signs of an accident and Don accelerated, the speed of the SUV matching the speed of his racing heart.

"Don… I love.. you, tell dad… I love him... too.

"Charlie, no... please.. you tell dad yourself, you can't leave me"

Silence.

"Charlie?"

Silence.

"CHARLIE!"

TBC…

Taura Callisto


	2. Chapter 2

The Call

Chapter Two

Officer Jacob Adams sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes as he read the police report in front of him. _Why do I always get stuck with these right before my shift ends? _

He had been called to the scene of the accident shortly after 9 PM and by the time he got there the owner of the newly wreaked vehicle had already been loaded and hauled off and he had yet to hear any news about the man, so he knew that his report would have to remain incomplete for the time being. He had gathered as much information as he could from the first officer to arrive on the scene, but there wasn't much information to gain. The officer had told him that the accident was called in by the victim's brother, who was too distraught to give any real information other than the fact that his brother had called him after he had had the accident and he was the one who found him. The vic's brother had left with the ambulance before he could be questioned any further.

There was nothing spectacular about the accident itself, hell he'd probably been to three others this week that were similar. It was mind numbing having to write this junk over and over every day. He put his pen down as he finish up; his eyes drew back to the top of the page and he scanned over what he had written.

_Motor Vehicular Accident Report_

_July 18th, 2006 Approximate time of accident between 8:00 and 8:30 PM_

_Male victim, Caucasian, 30 years of age. Name: Charles E. Eppes_

_Accident involves one vehicle: a blue 2005 Honda Accord _

_Condition: totaled _

_Accident description:_

_Upon arrival, vehicle was not in sight of the road. The road was covered in fresh skid marks, tire debris and glass. Broken glass bottles have been identified as the initial cause of the accident. The glass shards shredded both front and back passenger tires causing the vehicle to swerve out of control. The vehicle careened sharply to the left and into a wooded area whereupon driving over and through forest growth before coming to a hard stop against a large tree._

_Basic overview of victim gathered from officers on the scene:_

_Victim had head trauma with bleeding gash across left side of the head near the hair line, possible internal injuries, right arm broken. Official report not yet available. _

Officer Adams looked at his watch and groaned, it was getting late and if he didn't leave soon he would miss his favorite late night show. He glanced at the report and without further thought threw it on top of a growing stack of papers on his desk, it wasn't perfect but it would do for now, besides he couldn't finish it until he had all the rest of the information regarding the victim. He happily grabbed his jacket and car keys and left the office as fast as he could before he had any more work shoved on him.

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Both Alan and Don Eppes were exhausted. Who knew sitting in a waiting room could be so tiring? Of course, they had both done their fair share of waiting in similar rooms during the last few months of Margret's illness, but it had never been quite so sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat tense that it was now. Both father and son feared that any moment a doctor would come walking through those doors to tell them the horrible news.

Don was positive it would be bad; he had seen Charlie with his own eyes and it was a sight he knew would cause him nightmares for months to come, possibly years depending on what news the doctor brought them.

His exhaustion won the battle of wills against his need to stay awake incase something happened and Don's heavy eyelids slid closed on their own account.

_His world was solid black for a moment, but the more he looked around, the lighter it became until he could finally make out his surroundings in the darkness. Everything around him remained a dull gray and the utter stillness that surrounded him sent a chill down his spine._

_He wondered why he was standing in the middle of an empty road and it took him a moment to realize he was back at the scene of the accident._

_A sense of dread filled him and against his will his feet started to pull him forward toward the broken tree line. He tried to stop; he didn't want to see what he knew was in the forest just up ahead, but his body wouldn't listen and a moment later the wrecked heap came into view._

_The car was badly damaged and most of the windows were shattered, which made it easier to see the top of somebody's head leaning back against the headrest. Of course that wasn't just anybody sitting in the driver's seat, and as much as Don wished it was someone else, he knew that it was his little brother sitting there._

_He continued forward, although this time it was of his own doing, and he walked slowly towards the driver side door. He could hear a faint song coming from the car, presumably the radio and he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Now that he had he couldn't ignore it, it was the only other noise in the area besides his harsh breathing and it buzzed in his ear like an annoying insect._

_Finally he was standing beside the driver's side door, but he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to look in. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to try and tame the growing panic welling up within him. He took some time to steel himself for the gruesome sight he was about to face and opened his eyes. All the time in the world couldn't have prepared him to see his brother this way and the air was forced out of his lungs in shock._

_Charlie's eyes were closed and he would have almost looked peaceful if it weren't for the blood running down the side of his face. The blood on his brother stood out the worst because while everything else was a lifeless gray, the blood was a deep red color and Don could see every place that had a drop of the life giving liquid on it because it stood out like a neon sign in the night._

_The moment of stunned stillness passed and he quickly tried to yank the door open; it took several tries before the badly dented door creaked open and Don kneeled next to his brother, his first aid training kicking in._

_He didn't have to look hard to see that his brother wasn't breathing and he reached two shaking fingers to his brother's throat to check his pulse. Charlie's skin was cold to the touch and he almost drew his fingers back, but he had to know for sure, so he continued onward and held his fingers to Charlie's throat for a long moment, but the gentle thumping of a pulse never came. _

_His vision suddenly blurred and it took him a moment to realize he was crying. He quickly backed away from the car; he couldn't stand being there any longer and he immediately turned around to run away, but upon doing so he was no longer in the woods and the abrupt change in scenery drew him to a halt._

_He was now standing alone inside a chapel, rows of empty pews lined up in front of him. Where the woods had been gray, the inside of the chapel was brightly colored and it felt to Don that the happy colors were mocking his grief._

_He took a step forward and found himself on the other side of the room, standing in front of a closed casket. He really didn't want to see who was inside, but the decision wasn't his and the lid was slowly opened by a ghostly force. _

_He only had a moment to look at his brother inside before he was roughly brought out of his sleep._

It took Don a moment to get his bearings and completely wake up. He looked around to see that he was still in the hospital waiting room and finally looked to his father who was watching him intently with concern.

"Good you're awake, for a moment there I thought I was going to have to splash some water on you. You looked like you were having a bad dream, want to talk about it?" Having sat in the silence for so long with his thoughts, Alan would have gladly listened to anything to distract himself.

"Sorry dad, I didn't mean to fall asleep and no, I don't want to talk about it" Don knew that Alan didn't have complete details about the accident and he had enough to worry about right now besides Don's vivid dream which was basically all the details of the wreck, only multiplied and made a hundred times worse.

"Donnie…" Whatever Alan was going to say was interrupted when a doctor walked into the room.

"Eppes family?"

Don and Alan looked at each other, this was the news they had been waiting for, good or bad, they were about to find out. They both took deep, calming breaths before getting up and walking over to the doctor.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Joseph Williams, I handled Charles case, if you'll just follow me to my office, we'll talk there."

TBC…

Author's note: Ok guys, I hoped you liked the story so far. I really had only intended this to be a one shot, but I put myself in your shoes and I realized that I would probably like to know what happened to Charlie. I did it like that because I hate to kill Charlie off, so I just implied it and sometimes different peoples' imagination can come up with all kinds of different endings, I know I certainly thought of a few when I was trying to decide how to continue this story and give y'all some closure.

I want to apologize to anybody who might have actually knowledge of accident scenes and police reports, because I'm certainly no expert by any means, so I tried to describe it as best I could. I was trying to give two different perspectives of what happened, a more professional one and Don's more emotional one.

The next chapter will be the epilogue. Thanks sooo much for all the great review, cyberhugs for everybody. )

Taura Callisto


	3. Chapter 3

Epilogue

Months later Don was still having horrible, terrible nightmares of _that night_. That's how he referred to it now, _that night_ and if ever a more horrible night existed he was sure he had never heard of it.

He had come to his childhood home to visit and relax after a hard week. Surprisingly, nobody had been home when he had arrived, so he had laid out on the couch and turned the TV on, happy to just vegetate for a little while. After such a busy week with little time to rest he had, in his unfortunate opinion, fallen asleep.

So now here he was, trying to get his breathing under control and silently thanking whatever it was that had woken him from his nightmare. It took him a moment to realize that the TV had been turned off, the lights had been dimmed, and someone had laid a blanket over him, signifying that someone was home. He strained his hearing to try and figure out where the noise that had woken him had come from and after a moment he could hear someone rattling around in the kitchen.

Don slowly sat up and rubbed his hands over his face to erase any lasting signs that his nightmare might have left behind. After a quick stretch he stood up and quietly made his way toward the kitchen.

He stopped in the doorway and watched for a moment. Charlie had his back to him and was making a sandwich; occasionally he would stop and jot something down in a notebook that was on the counter crammed in-between the things Charlie was using to make his late night snack. He still had a soft cast on his right arm and Don wondered how he could manage to write anything legible enough to read while wearing something so constricting. As soon as the hard cast had come off, Charlie had insisted on using his right hand to write with again and Don could tell it had been fairly painful at first.

Don was still counting his blessings even though it had been a few months since _that night_. Sometimes after a particularly bad nightmare, he would have to take a moment and remember what truly happened, because his nightmares were sometimes worse than reality.

In the really bad nightmares, Charlie was already long dead by the time he got to him, or sometimes he had just died and no amount of life resuscitating techniques would bring him back.

In reality, when Don had finally found his little brother, Charlie had been barely breathing and was unconscious. He knew that at some point on the way to the hospital or perhaps once Charlie had arrived at the hospital he had stopped breathing, but Don had been reluctant to ask for exact details concerning that moment in time. Besides, he had been in law enforcement long enough to have seen, firsthand, someone stop breathing, but they had not been fortunate enough to start again and he didn't want to picture Charlie that way.

Seeing as how his brother had yet to realize that someone was watching him, Don walked up behind Charlie and gently tapped him on the shoulder. Charlie spun around, clearly startled, and Don saw him briefly grit his teeth, no doubt in reaction to a twinge of pain in his ribs. Even though Charlie's broken ribs had mostly healed, any sudden or sharp movements often caused him a small amount of pain and knowing this, Don felt a small pang of guilt that he had been the cause of it this time.

Charlie leaned against the counter, his left hand on his chest as he took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, waiting for the adrenaline rush to fade.

"Don, what in the heck is wrong with you, don't you know better than to sneak up on people and then nearly scare them to death."

Don shrugged sheepishly, trying to hide his flinch at Charlie's mention of death, none of which was lost on Charlie. He immediately softened his tone and smiled at his brother instead.

"Hey, I thought you were asleep, I didn't wake you did I? I was trying to be quiet, but you know how clumsy I can be sometimes, sorry."

Don just shook his head and took a step back from Charlie, afraid to get to close in case he somehow hurt his brother again.

Charlie frowned when he saw this, it was time he and his brother had a little talk. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and plan his course of action; he and his brother would resolve this issue tonight or at the very least start on the road to recovery.

"Don, do you remember a week after the accident happened, I was awake enough to talk to you and dad, and you asked me something about a phone call that I made to you right after I wrecked my car and I told you that I didn't know what you were talking about; that I couldn't remember anything leading up to the accident?"

Don hesitated, not entirely sure where Charlie was going with this. "Yes, I remember, what about it?"

"Well, I didn't really think too much about your reaction at the time, I was a little preoccupied, but I've been thinking about it since I got out of the hospital and since then I have slowly begun to remember more of what happened and yesterday I remembered that phone call."

"Really?" Don's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well, bits and parts of it, I still can't remember the small details, but now I understand your reaction a little bit better."

Don knew that Charlie was staring at him intently, but he couldn't bring himself to look Charlie in the eyes, he chose to study his shoes instead.

Knowing that he wasn't going to get anything out of Don, he continued. "I can clearly remember how hurt you looked that I couldn't remember that phone call and now that I can remember it, I have to tell you Don, I never meant for that call to turn out the way it did. At the time, my thoughts were really fuzzy because of the head injury, so I wasn't thinking clearly and that fact alone had me kind of scared and more than a little worried, so I did what I always do when I feel overwhelmed by something I don't understand, I look to someone else for a clue and who better to give me a clue than an FBI agent."

Charlie smiled fondly at his brother for a moment and was a little relieved to see Don sneak a quick glance at his face before returning his gaze to the floor. Maybe he was finally getting through to his thick-headed brother.

"Don, when I first called you, it really was just to hear your voice and I believe that's what I told you when you asked why I was calling, but by the end of the conversation I felt so tired and weak, and I was a little afraid that I might really be dying, that I didn't want to miss the chance to tell you how I really felt, just in case I never got that chance again."

Charlie stayed silent until his brother finally looked up at him; he had to be sure that Don understood what he was about to say.

"Don, I never intended to make you feel like it was your job to save me..."

"Charlie…"

"No Don, let me finish. I didn't mean to put that kind of pressure on you and I'm so very sorry that you had to go through that by yourself. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for you to receive a phone call like that. I know what this whole incident is doing to you, I know about the nightmares, and I feel guilty because I know it's my fault and I can't do anything to magically fix it and make it better."

Charlie turned away from his brother, he hadn't meant to get so upset, and he most certainly had not meant to tell Don about his feelings of guilt, but everything had just sort of spilled out once he started talking. Don had enough of his own issues to deal with; he didn't need Charlie's issues piled on top.

Don quickly closed the distance between them, forgetting his earlier worries about accidently hurting his brother, and pulled Charlie around to face him. Charlie's eyes were bright with unshed tears and Don could tell the he was struggling to get his emotions under control.

"Buddy, I'm not looking for you to fix my problems, I don't want you to even feel like you have to; it's not like you wrecked on purpose. And as far as calling me goes, I am so glad that you did and any resulting nightmares are nothing compared to the alternative. Believe me, someone calling to tell me that they had found your dead body in your car on a back road somewhere would have been a million times worse. Charlie, I want you to call me when you need help, that's what big brothers are for and I don't take that duty lightly."

Charlie still looked unsure though, so Don drew him in for a quick hug then pulled him back far enough that he could see his face.

"Charlie, we both need to heal, we just have to be patient and give it some time. It will get better though, I promise."

Charlie smiled a little and Don was even further relieved to hear him chuckle.

"How is it that I try and resolve your problems and you turn around and help me instead?"

Don just grinned, "I'm just good like that; people call me Mr. Fix-it"

"What people are these? The ones in your head?" Charlie laughed out loud when Don gave him a playful glare and he easily sidestepped the punch that had been aimed at his arm.

They both stopped when they heard someone cough to get their attention. Alan was standing in the door way.

"What's going on down here, it's two o'clock in the morning for goodness sakes and you're playing around in the kitchen when you should be in bed." He tried to sound stern, but he couldn't keep the smile from forming on his face, it was good to see his boys acting normal again.

The guilty party looked at each other and smiled; their issues might not have been magically fixed, but talking about it had helped and they knew that in time the nightmares and guilty feelings would ease up and eventually fade.

Alan moved further into the room and took a seat at the table, he had only heard the end of the conversation, but it was enough to know what the topic was and it felt good to know that his boys were close enough now as adults to be able to talk through their problems. He reached for the forgotten sandwich sitting on the counter and took a bite, his youngest was no cook, but he could make a mean roast beef sandwich.

"Is there anything to drink?" he asked when his sons looked back to him.

"Hey, that's my sandwich you're eating, get your own" Charlie tried to grab the sandwich from his father's hands, but Alan was quicker and moved it out of reach.

"Well next time don't leave your food unattended..."

Don watched his brother and father bicker, it was a comforting scene and it helped chip away some of the tension that had been hanging around his family since the accident. He was really glad that he had come to his brother's house tonight and he knew that the next time he had a nightmare he could remember this moment fondly and it would help chase away his demons. Yep, everything was going to be alright.

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Author's Note:

Ok guys, I hope this gives you the closer you were asking for. I just couldn't bring myself to kill Charlie, but I have no problems with hurting him or making him feel sad. ;)

Sorry it took so long to get this last chapter up, I have been working on this story and another one that just recently popped into my head. I apologize for any grammar mistakes or typos, I do the writing and the editing myself, which makes it a little harder to catch things, because I already know what it is suppose to say. So if you catch anything feel free to tell me about it so I can correct it, I just ask that it be constructive criticism and polite.

Thanks to everybody who has reviewed, you'll never know how much I appreciated all your comments. :)


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